Ophiomyia beckeri

Ophiomyia beckeri (Hendel, 1923)

Lapsana communis, Nieuwendam

mine

In Asteraceae the larva mostly lives as a borer in the midrib of the leaves. From there short corridors are made into the blade. Also a corridor can be made overlying the midrib. In Euphorbia a small mine is made in the bracts of the inflorescence. The final mine strongly resembles the one of Liriomyza strigata, but the branches are virtually free from frass; this is accumulated in the resting place of the larva, in the base of the midrib. There also pupation takes place.

The references to Cardaria draba, Sisymbrium irio by Gill-Ortiz ao, 2009a, are improbable.

The occurrence on Euphorbia does not match well with the long list of Asteraceae host. Spencer (1966c) therefore supposed that Hendel had made a mistake while describing his single specimen of M. euphorbiae, and that Euphorbia gerardiana (now seguieriana) was not the actual host plant. Martinez & Sobhian (2000a) later agreed with this conclusion. However, Spencer’s supposition is not simply in accordance with other references to M. euphorbiae on Euphorbia serrata (by Hering), E. amygdaloides (Kvičala), E. spec. (Skala & Zavřel) and E. helioscopia (Maček).

phenology

Larvae in May-June (Hering, 1957a).

BENELUX

BE recorded (Scheirs, De Bruyn & von Tschirnhaus, 1995a).

NE observed (Ellis, various localities).

LUX not recorded (Fauna Europaea, 2008).

distribution within Europe

From Finland to the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Serbia, and from Ireland to Poland (Fauna Europaea, 2008); mainly in southern Europe (Spencer, 1972b).